Mental Health Treatment

According to parents’ reports, 5.3 percent of
children aged 4-17 years received treatment for
emotional or behavioral difficulties in the past
year. This includes treatment, alone or in conjunction
with medication, for difficulties with
emotions, concentration, behavior, or being able
to get along with others. Boys were more likely
than girls to have received treatment (6.4 versus
4.2 percent), and older children (aged 12-17
years) were more likely than younger children
(aged 4-11 years) to have received treatment (6.5
versus 4.4 percent; data not shown). Among
those children who received treatment for emotional
or behavioral difficulties, almost 60 percent
were seen at a private practice, clinic, or mental
health care center, while nearly 40 percent received
treatment through their school. Another
one-quarter of children who received treatment
did so through a primary care provider, and fewer
than 10 percent of children received treatment at
some other type of place. (Parents could report
more than one place of treatment.)

In 2005-2006, 5.1 percent of children aged
4-17 years were prescribed medication for emotional
or behavioral difficulties in the past year.
That includes the 4.4 percent of children who
were reported to have been prescribed medication
for the symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity
disorder (ADHD). Again, boys were more
likely than girls to have been prescribed medication
(6.6 versus 3.4 percent), and 12- to 17-year-olds
were more likely to be prescribed medication
than younger children (6.0 versus 4.3 percent;
data not shown).

Information on this page can be found in the print version of Child Health USA 2008-2009.
Suggested Citation: U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and
Child Health Bureau. Child Health USA 2008-2009. Rockville, Maryland:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2009.